Idris Elba wants to do Luther origins film

WITH HIT crime series Luther set to return to TV screens next month, Idris Elba has revealed plans to make an origin film about the BBC-produced programme.

Londoner Elba, 40, stars as lead character John Luther in the award-winning crime thriller.

The third season of Luther begins on July 2 at 9.00pm and Elba spoke of his plans to create an origins film adaptation from the show’s creator Neil Cross’ prequel book The Calling.

"If we do decide to make this film, the spine of the film will probably come from The Calling - which is the book - and that starts at the beginning of who Luther is and where he's come from," said Elba.

He hopes that the proposed film would appeal to "a new audience for Luther but... also... keep the fans interested.”

He continued: "It's a goal for Neil and I, for sure - we've talked about it at length.

"We haven't got into any sort of deal stage or anything like that, but it's certainly a goal.”

Elba, who rose to prominence following his role as Russell ‘Stringer’ Bell in the critically acclaimed U.S series The Wire, added: "We did six episodes, then we did four, then we waited a year and a half and then we did another four.

"That's training our fans to gear up towards what could be either a film or maybe a television special and then a film."